Free agency officially opens on Monday, July, 1 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, or 9:01 p.m. Sunday in Los Angeles. Although teams and players can begin having contact as of July 1, deals cannot be officially consummated until the end of the free agency moratorium on July 10. Howard is reportedly expected to announce his decision shortly after the moratorium is lifted.

Howard, 27, averaged 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in his only season with the Lakers after being acquired from the Magic in a four-team blockbuster trade last summer.

The seven-time All-Star told reporters after the Lakers were swept by the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs that he planned to "step away" before considering his free agency options.

"I’m going to step away from everything for a couple weeks and clear my head before I do or talk about anything, as far as next season," Howard said in April. "I think I deserve that. That’s what I’m going to do."

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Lakers.com this week that he believes Howard is a Hall of Famer.